I'm still sick. One entire month later. I haven't cooked dinner or done any sort of house cleaning for a month. I've turned to multiple people to watch Eliza to let me sleep or rest or go to the doctor. I've taken drugs, tried natural remedies and spent a lot of time online trying to figure out what to do next. And at today's doctor visit it was decided that I have allergies. These are the worst allergies I've ever had, but I'm willing to give the inhaler, nasal spray and OTC allergy medicine a try if it can give me some rest from the cough, sore throat and runny nose that's been accompanying me for a month. And here's hoping that Shawn, Eliza, and I can all get some sleep tonight, because we were ALL kept awake last night by my cough.
Here are the things I can't live without when I'm sick (besides my Mom who we all want when we are sick, and she has certainly saved the day MULTIPLE times this time around!)
1. Halls Vitamin C Drops I don't like cough drops, I can't stand them. I think it's the menthol in them, but even when I have my worst cough I can't keep a cough drop in my mouth for more than a few minutes. Then one day I discovered Halls Vitamin C Drops. It's got 100% of your Vitamin C for the day, which you are supposed to take when you are sick anyway, and this is a much more attractive way to take Vitamin C than taking a pill with a glass of water. Plus, it does a great job of shushing my cough or soothing my sore throat. When I'm sick the first thing I do is make sure I have a package of these on my night stand.
2. Hot Orange Juice My Dad wasn't the parent who would take time off to take care of his sick kids when I was little, so it wasn't until I was a teenager and he was semi-retired that he shared this sore throat secret with me, a nice tall glass of hot orange juice. I balked when he told me, orange juice on a sore throat? It sounds like lemon juice on a paper cut, but I'm telling you this actually works! And not only does the heat make it easy to swallow, the entire thing soothes your throat for hours. I think I'll go pour myself a nice tall glass of hot OJ right now.
3. Puffs Plus Lotion with Vicks When Shawn and I were dating he got sick and I brought him a little get well package of Halls Vitamin C drops, a bottle of orange juice (with instructions to heat it) and a box of Puffs Plus Lotion with Vicks tissues. A week later I was at his house, the OJ was still sitting unopened in the fridge, the Vitamin C Drops had been put away, also unopened, and the Puffs were sitting out where just anybody could use them! I told him, you can't just leave the Puffs out! Those things are GOLD for a sick nose, you have to protect them, put them away for next time, don't just waste them or let them get used up! These tissues are truly MAGIC when you are sick, the lotion part soothing the nose, and the Vicks part easing the congestion. Sadly, Shawn and I have been searching for months for these beautiful tissues, but they don't seem to be sold in our area. But according to the website they still exist! So, if you have some in your area, hoard them! You don't know when you'll need them! (Oh, and if you could send me a box, my nose and I would really appreciate it!)
4. Netti Pot My lovely former roommate was kind enough to share her grandmother with me. Grandma Durham was full of wisdom and funny stories. She was generous and charming and if nothing else Laura always came home with an amusing Grandma Durham anecdote. One day Grandma Durham found out Laura had been feeling under the weather and sent her home with a Netti Pot. We all declared it was crazy, gross and we would never, ever use a netti pot. We were all wrong. I'm not sure exactly what led to me actually using this contraption, but I'm telling you, it works. It helps with my seasonal allergies and with my colds. It's still working this time around, but this cold + allergy misery seems to be besting even the netti pot.
5. Mom Blanket Of course the best thing when I am sick, the thing that can never be matched is my Mom. But, while my Mom has been incredible the past month, sadly, she still has to go home after a few hours of her magic, and sadly, I can't live on her couch anymore. So, the next best thing to my Mom is a blanket she made for me when I was 8. It's worn and needs to be mended, but my "Mom Blanket" has led me through many sicknesses, be it a broken heart or jaw surgery or your average cold. Wrapping up in my red, white and blue comforter is almost as good as being wrapped in her arms. It has the magic ability to keep you not too hot and not too cold, it's perfect in both weight and softness. I may have had it for 20+ years, but I predict it will be around for another 20 years.
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